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(11) | EP 2 136 388 A3 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Deposition of Materials |
| (57) Sputter deposition can move towards a more commercial scale, by adopting a geometry
that is more susceptible to larger scale operation and also by encouraging the production
of the necessary charged nanoparticles. The former is assisted by a magnetron comprising
a cylindrical target having at least an outer face of the material to be deposited
and a hollow interior, and a source of magnetic flux within the hollow interior arranged
to present magnetic poles in a direction that is radially outward with respect to
the cylindrical target. The source of magnetic flux preferably presents alternating
north and south magnetic poles in circumferential bands around the target. The latter
is enabled by providing a plasma or electron cloud in the flight path at a later stage
where atoms are more likely to have coalesced into nanoparticles. Magnets are able
to extend the physical extent of the sputter plasma, allowing electron capture by
the nanoparticles that have been generated by the plasma. Accordingly, an apparatus
for the production of nanoparticles is disclosed comprising a magnetron within a chamber
containing a gas at low pressure, a means for creating a flow of the gas away from
the magnetron, and at least one source of magnetic flux located downstream from the
magnetron.
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